# Cuticle care: my experience



## swedgal (Oct 19, 2011)

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to share with all of you my reviews of several cuticle care products I have been testing over the years. I live in a cold climate and wash my hand very often due to my work so my cuticles get easily dry if I do not take good care of them. I have tried many products and finally I have found a routine that works for me, here is a list and short review of everything I have tried and then a description of my routine, hope it is useful for some of you.

CUTICLE OILS: they are all pretty much the same and work by moisturizing the cuticle but they obviosly have a tendency to slide and spread around so they are better used in the evening or when yo uare active touching and handling stuff.


OPI avoplex has a nice smell and is quite dense, I have bought several bottles of this (I usually stock up when I travel to the USA)  and never been disappointed. It is easy to find and comes to a reasonable price.
CND solar oil consist mainly of almond oil, the smell is quite all right, it is more on the liquid side compared to OPI but works fine none the less. The advantage is that you can buy it in big bottles shaped like a sphere that contain 2,3oz and will last several months.
Jessica "Phenomen oil" is something I tried just once out of curiosity, it works pretty well but it's more expensive and more hard to find than the previosly mentioned ones. Bottom line if you find it somewhere on sale it is worth a try otherwise do not waste money on it.
LCN nail oil comes in a tiny 12ml bottle and it is quite expensive, I picked it up once at the airport when I realized I had forgotten to pack a cuticle oil on my way to Asia for a 3 weeks holiday. It is an excellent oil, very dense and I had the feeling it also speeds up nail growth but it is very hard to find (I think it is a German brand) so I gave up on it.
Scratch "Nail Food" is also hard to find outside europe since it is a swedish brand, it consists of sesam oil, it comes in a tiny 10ml dark glass bottle and it is very expensive. As a cuticle oil performs like any other so I won't say that it is special but it is unique since it can be used under you nailpolish. Currently I use this only before putting the polish on, I massage it in the nail, remove the excess and than put the base coat and the rest on. My manicure last 5-6 days and my nails do not get dry.

CUTICLE CREAMS/BALMS: they work like the oils but do not slide around as much and therefore have more of a nourishing effect. In order to minimize the spread, avoid contamination and not make my fingers sticky I apply those with an orange stick all around the cuticles which also saves me some product.


Burt's Bees "lemon butter cuticle cream" is my favourite, it is a combination of natural oils and bee wax, is cheap and works great. I usually get stashes of this when I travel to the USA but I am starting to see it in european webshops too so it can't be hard to find.
LUSH "lemony flutter" is also based on natural oils but it is more a cream than a balm and it melts into an oil when applied. I personally do not like the smell and I do not think it works nice as a cuticle treatment but it is a great cream for dry spots such as elbows and heels.
QTICA "intense cuticle repair balm" is lanolin based, I bought it via ebay just to try it and I tend to use it when my cuticles get really dry. It sinks in beautifully but it is defintly more expensive than the other so I would recommend it only if you have very dry and cracked cuticles.

EXFOLIANT CREAMS: these are supposed to work like a peeling for your cuticles, I have tried only 2 with very different results


CND "cuticle eraser" is a very light cream and absorbs quickly but it did not work at all for me. My cuticles got drier by the minute so I stopped using this after a few days. I have read great reviews for this products on some blogs but it just does not work for me.
OPI avoplex "exfoliating cuticle treatment" is also a cream but it is very dense. I did not have any expecatation for this after the experince with CND but I picked it up with some bottles of avoplex oil just to try and I am very happy I did it. I use this in the evening and next morning my cuticles are perfectly moisturized and if I run an orange stick around them I can remove some whitish stuff (dead cells I assume). I do not use this every day but it is a great alternative to oils/balms.

OILS IN GEL FORM: these are excellent on the go, I always have one in my purse or in my office so that I can dab a little on my cuticles in the morning or in the middle of the day and keep them moist. I have only tried 2 of these and both works well.


OPI avoplex "cuticle oil to go" comes in a tube with a little brush on the tip that helps spreading the product. I really like the brush and the oil melts nicely in my cuticles but the package is really tiny (0.25oz) and that's why I tried the next option
QTICA "solid gold cuticle oil" comes in tubes of 0.5oz or 1.7oz. I tried the smaller tube since it is a better option to carry around and I think it works great. You need a very little amount but you have to massage that in with your fingers. If this came with a brush it would defintly be my favourite.

And now on to my routine: every 5-6 days (when i remove my polish) I use a cuticle remover that softens the cuticle and melts away dead cells. I use a cheap one I can find at CVS (1 oz transparent bottle with red and yellow label) and I put it on before removing the polish to avoid nail discoloration. I let it sit for 1 min and then wash it off and push my cuticle with an orange stick. Directly after I put on a little amount of oil, massage it and then top it with a little cream/balm that I let sink in. I use this oil/balm combination also in the evening on a daily basis but if I see that my cuticles have the tendency to dry out anyway I alternate it with an exfoliant cream. In the morning I use one of the oil in gel form if I am at work but if I stay at home I use one of the "regular oil" and I try to do that as often as I can (typically when I stay at home my cuticles look much better and I do not need to use the exfoliant in the evening).

I hope this long post will be helpful for those of you still searching for the perfect cuticle treatment




 and if any of you have more tips/suggestions/reviews please share them with all of us!


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## zadidoll (Oct 19, 2011)

Your post reminds me of an question asked and answered in this month's issue of Nailpro magazine. The question was on cuticle confusion and how so many people confuse the skin around the nail as the cuticle when it's actually called the *eponychium* not the cuticle.



​ Image from Nailpro Magazine, October 2011 issue.​ 
Looking back on my nails I know that on three of my fingers the cuticle are pretty bad (I so need a GOOD manicure, not an at-home one... I want some pampering and massaging!) but my eponychium are what are horrible! That skin tends to dry out so easily and split easily since my hands tend to dry out easily to begin with. I really haven't found any creams, lotions, oils or elixirs that really helps. I know even if I keep myself hydrated my skin dries out so easily, 10 minutes after applying any type of lotion my hands look like dried out little granny hands.


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